A week after announcing his camera trap had captured the first otter in the Bronx River in a century, a local wildlife researcher was surprised to see a new face in his lens: an American mink.

“It  was exciting because it was the first time that I’ve seen them on my camera traps,” said RJ Hawkins, whose research is overseen by the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society. “ It’s an interesting discovery because like the North American river otter, they’re also indicators for a healthy freshwater ecosystem.”

Mink have been spotted in wooded areas of the Bronx before. But the new image is the first official sighting of the feisty predator on this part of the formerly polluted river. The mink joins the otter and a beaver, which all appear to live in the area near the Bronx Zoo. Local nature lovers say the sightings are a testament to nature’s resilience — and the effectiveness of decades of restoration efforts.

Researcher R.J. Hawkins maintains the camera traps along the Bronx River.

Walter Wuthmann/Gothamist

“Every species captured by our cameras tells us something about how wildlife is responding to a Bronx River that has become cleaner and healthier after decades of restoration,” said Craig Piper, interim executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society and director of the Bronx Zoo. “This mink is a reminder that positive progress is the result of the sustained efforts of dedicated organizations.”

By the 19th century New York’s otters, beavers, and mink had been hunted to near-extinction. While their numbers are recovering upstate, they’re still a rare sight in the waters around New York City.

Factories and mills once lined the Bronx River, pumping out products like barrels, bleach and iron. Eventually those factories gave way to the Bronx River Parkway – and the polluted river became a dumping ground.

Cardi Beaver the beaver captured at night by a camera trap in May.

Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society

Growing up in the Bronx in the 1980s, “ you would see cars in the river, tons of tires in the river,” said Javier Lopez, the Bronx River Alliance’s interim executive director.

Community groups have organized local clean-ups of the river since at least the 1970s, according to Lopez. “Bronx residents refused to let this river be treated like a dumping ground,” he said.

An otter, beaver and mink are thought to live around this scenic section of the Bronx River.

Walter Wuthmann/Gothamist

The Bronx River Alliance and Wildlife Conservation Society scored a major victory in 2011 when they secured over $30 million in federal restoration funds with the help of former U.S. Rep. José Serrano.

They used the money to pull out the junked cars, re-plant the riverbanks, protect more habitat and reintroduce native fish species like alewife, a small, silvery river herring.

“ What we were able to do and what the community was able to do is to give a little bit of respite to nature,” said  John Calvelli, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Executive Vice President for Public Affairs. “And guess what? Nature is incredibly resilient. If we give it some time, it will come back.”

The first furry mammal to return to the Bronx River was a beaver in 2007, which advocates named José, after Serrano. He was joined a few years later by another beaver named Justin Beaver.

The pair disappeared around 2018, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, likely due to natural causes.

The elusive otter was captured by a camera trap in June.

Courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society Education Department/RJ Hawkins

Hawkins, the wildlife researcher, spotted a new beaver on his camera traps last summer, who he’s calling Cardi Beaver. He captured the shot of the otter in June. And now there appears to be a mink – all three animals sharing the same stretch of river.

“The  area is a little hotspot of biodiversity in an otherwise very urban landscape,” Hawkins said. “So it’s exciting to see just how many species can coexist with us.”